On the heels of the announcement that the Free Trade Agreement with Colombia will go into effect in May, Port Everglades and the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport hosted a delegation of public officials from Colombia to discuss international trade and visit Broward County's seaport.

Port Everglades is the top seaport in Florida for trade with Colombia, which totaled more than $1 billion in FY 2011, representing 54 percent of Colombian trade through all of Florida's seaports last year.

This trade mission coincided with the announcement on Sunday by President Barack Obama and Colombian President Santos Juan Manuel Santos that the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement will enter into force on May 15, 2012. The agreement will expand exports of U.S. goods by more than $1.1 billion and provide duty-free access for U.S. goods in sectors from manufacturing to agriculture.

The delegation was on a trade mission from Colombia and included Sandra Paola Hurtado, Governor of Quindío, Colombia; Luz Piedad Valencia Franco, Mayor or Armenia, Colombia; Guido Echeverry Piedrahita, Governor of Caldas, Colombia; and John Edgar Perez-Rojas, Mayor of Quimbaya, Colombia. Also joining was Fernando Escobar, President of International Trading Center in Miami, and Fabio Andrade, President and CEO of the Americas Community Center Inc. in Weston, Florida.

"It is very important that relationships could be built, not only with the federal government but also at the local and regional levels," said Fabio Andrade, President and CEO of the Americas Community Center Inc. It is a great opportunity to network and to build relationships with Port Everglades, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and these regions in Colombia now that the Free Trade Agreement has been signed.

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